George Takei on Shatner, Stern, and His Missing Nude Portrait

"I'm overexposed," George Takei jokingly admits early in our conversation. When you're a prominent gay activist, an Internet celebrity (more than 7 million Facebook "likes" and counting), and a proud cast member of one of the most popular sci-fi TV/movie series of the past 50 years, keeping a low profile is probably not in your best interest—or in your nature. If anything, Takei is a savvy brand-builder, doing whatever it takes to get his platforms across to the broadest audience. That includes, but is not limited to, doing pushups during a Today show appearance, increasing his online following by sharing as many giggle-worthy memes as possible or dropping his catchphrase "Oh, myyy" in that unmistakable basso profondo at just the right moment for maximum effect.

We had the opportunity to sit down with the Star Trek alum to discuss his latest venture, To Be Takei, a documentary about the 77-year-old actor that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is set to debut in select cities, on VOD platforms, and on iTunes August 22. It was like listening to an elderly sage who just happens to know more about the Internet than your average millennial. And that laugh. Oh, myyy, that laugh.

Men's Health:How did this documentary come about?

George Takei: It was [director] Jennifer [Kroot]'s idea. It turns out she was a Star Trek fan from the time she was a girl. And then when I spoke to the press as a gay guy, a gay actor, she was inspired by it. She thought she’d read up on me and she got my autobiography, To the Stars, and then she learned about my childhood incarceration in U.S. internment camps. That’s when she really got interested in my life, and she approached us to make a documentary. We had to think twice about it, because often documentaries, or vanity films, are made under the guise of a documentary about actors. And we didn’t want that. But we also saw it as an opportunity to—you know, we’ve been advocates for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] equality—and here was another potential vehicle to demonstrate both the normality of a same-sex relationship as well as the craziness of being married to an actor. [Laughs.]

MH: My husband and I watched To Be Takei together and we both said, "Yep, that’s it. That’s what marriage is like." The bickering is the same no matter who you are.

Takei: Straight couples can identify with it too—the bickering. [Laughs.] And so we decided, we need to vet this documentarian. We saw her films, they were very impressive, and she gets visual humor. And then we wanted to see where her values were, and so we had many, many meetings, many meals together, and we found that that we had common values, common aspirations. And so we said “yes.” And "we trust you. We’re not going to ask for final-cut approval, and we want you to honor that trust we have in you. It’s a two-way street." She did a lovely, charming, delightful job. But I still wish she had cut out certain scenes! [Laughs.]

MH: To Be Takei doesn’t shy away from your ongoing feud with William Shatner. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jennifer had managed to get Captain Kirk himself to appear at all. What is the current situation of your so-called "rivalry"?

Takei: It’s an interesting story. You know, one of the gifts of Star Trek is my professional work colleagues have become my lifelong friends. When Brad and I decided to get married, we asked Nichelle [Nichols, Star Trek's Lt. Uhura] to be our matron of honor. She said [imperious voice], “I’m not a matron. If Walter [Koenig, Star Trek's Chekhov] can be the best man, why can’t I be the best lady?” And we said, “Oh, of course! Forgive us!” [Laughs.] Anyway, we didn’t want it to be exclusive, so we sent invitations out to everybody. Bill was the only one who didn’t RSVP. But you know about the hoo-hah he made. [In the documentary, Shatner claims he was never invited and insists he and Takei barely know each other.] Two months after the wedding! What’s the point of that? I mean, if he really wanted to come, he should have phoned us. If there was some mistake in the postage, he could have called us before the wedding. And now he’s claiming he doesn’t even know us! So what I say is, over the years we've become a Star Trek family, and like many families, we have our eccentric, crazy uncle that shows up at reunions. [Laughs.]

MH: You and Brad have been together for 27 years. That is an impressive achievement by any standard—Hollywood, gay, or straight. What is your secret to a happy, long-standing relationship?

Takei: We have a compact that we’ve made. When you’re together, you’re gonna have differences, you’re gonna have quibbles, sometimes arguments. But no matter what, every night before we go to bed, we kiss each other. Sometimes it’s difficult. Sometimes it’s just a perfunctory [gives a quick air kiss.]

MH: Oh, yeah. I know that kind of kiss.

Takei: When you do that [quick air kiss], it seems so ridiculous, but it puts it in the larger context: Whatever we bickered about, or even yelled about, seems ridiculous. We love each other, and that’s what comes out in the [quick air kiss]. The other thing that Brad does is, every morning, rain or shine, he wakes me up with a cup of hot green tea with a squeeze of lemon. Every morning.

MH: When it comes to social-media domination, everybody today has their favorite tools of the trade. What’s your weapon of choice? iPhone? iPad? Desktop? Laptop?

Takei: I’m most comfortable with my computer. Yes, I have an iPhone, but I’ve reached that point now where to read e-mails on my phone, I need my reading glasses. I’m most comfortable with the big-screen computer.

MH: There is no shortage of postings on your Facebook page. Is it all you directly? Brad? Your interns? What’s the breakdown?

Takei: Well, Brad manages the comments area. But, you know, recently I was in London, or I might be on a soundstage, and what we do is we backlog the posts, and the interns are given certain dates [to put up the posts]. When there is breaking news, these are savvy young people, and we’ve told them, “We need to be on top of it. So, when I’m out of the country, or buried on a soundstage, you take initiative." Like with Robin Williams.

MH: Your Facebook posts on Robin Williams were some of the first ones I saw in the wake of his death. Did you know him? Had you worked with him?

Takei: I had never worked with him, but I have one vivid memory of him. I did a voice-over for a picture that was accepted by Sundance [Noon Blue Apples]. This was many years ago, so we were there at Sundance. And there was one film that starred Robin Williams called One-Hour Photo. Wasn’t that a wonderful film? He was amazing in that. So we went to that screening, and at Sundance, the cast and the director have a Q&A afterward. So the film was screened, then the director [Mark Romanek] came out, and he started talking about the film and somebody said, “Where’s Robin?” And he said, “Well, frankly, I don’t know. He’s supposed to be here, but he’s not, so let me explain how we did this and did that.” And then we heard the slamming of doors, and thumping feet and people shouting, and then this huge parka came stomping in, rushed down the aisle, got onstage and took off the parka, and there’s Robin Williams. And the director turned around and sat down and he never got up and said another word. [Laughs.] It was an amazing demonstration of spontaneous, improvisatory performance. He was amazing! The energy, and the wit, and the just plain, uproarious entertainment. He was a force of nature—like a wind that blew in, like a tornado.

MH: Let's talk about Howard Stern.

Takei: Oh, yes. Oh, myyy!

MH: Obviously you are a Stern show regular, as both a guest and an announcer. What is it about Howard Stern that you like so much?

Takei: Well, Howard is, despite his reputation, a very decent guy. And he is a strong supporter of equality for all people, and certainly in this case, LGBT people. He announced on the air, when we were talking about marriage equality, he said, “Unless George and Brad can get married, Beth [Ostrosky] and I won’t get married. If they can get married, we’ll get married.” And we thought that was just Howard rhetoric. We were grateful for it but, you know, it’s good radio. But sure enough, when it became possible for us to get married in California in 2008, two months later, he and Beth got married. He is a man of his word. He is a great supporter, and he’s got the guts to stand up and face the music, when he believes in something and it’s going counter to the wind, like when Bush invaded Iraq, on the air, he said, "What president cuts taxes, and then starts a war? It is crazy, it is madness." The administration of a president is being called to task, on public radio.

MH: That's right. Go Howard!

Takei: Go Howard! Go girl! [Laughs.]

MH: I admit I’m setting myself up for a really bad joke here, but for the Star Trek virgins out there who have never seen an episode, is there any particular one you recommend they start with?

Takei: It’s also a good script! How the suspense is built, the Enterprise is spiraling down, and how to save the Enterprise, or our world. It’s spine-tingling. And it gives me a chance to demonstrate my swashbuckling prowess. I think that’s one of the best episodes—I’m obviously biased.

MH: To Be Takei doesn’t shy away from the saucy stuff, delving into the wide array of Star Trek fan fiction available on the Internet. Do you have a favorite?

Takei: Well, Jennifer couldn’t find that one centerfold [of me]. It was a nude. Frontal. And [because it’s mentioned in the documentary] I thought she was going to find that. So I said, “It’s realistic enough for it to be believable, and exaggerated enough for me to be flattered." [Laughs.]

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